Ministry of Health Media Conference on COVID-19 - Saturday October 30th 2021

Key Points from the Ministry of Health’s Virtual Media Conference On COVID-19 – Saturday October 30th, 2021 Full service (consumption of alcohol on the premises ONLY) will resume at restaurants and other facilities operating within the Safe Zones from Monday 1st November, 2021. Capacity remains at 50%. While T&T has crossed the 600,000 threshold of completed COVID-19 vaccinations, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh is expressing concern over the slowing down of persons coming in for their first COVID-19 shot. He is appealing to the unvaccinated population to make vaccination part of their civic duty. As of this morning, 51 out of 54 beds in the parallel healthcare system in Trinidad are occupied by COVID-19 patients. Of those 51 patients in the system, 48 are not fully vaccinated. As of this morning, there are 19 patients across the traditional Accident and Emergency Departments who require immediate transfer to hospitals in the parallel care system. Seven of these 19 patients require ICU care. Principal Medical Officer – Institutions, Dr. Maryam Abdool-Richards, noted that persons continue to come to A&E Departments in a severe and critical medical state, requiring immediate ICU care (ventilatory support) for COVID-19. She said the average number of patients requiring ICU care is between 5 and 7 patients. The Trinidad and Tobago Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance (TTNCDA) has, with the support of PAHO, launched a COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy hotline, 607-VAXX. This virtual call centre is staffed by doctors.